MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2019) French servicemen carried out an operation as part of their anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane, during which they killed one of the important figures of the Group to Support islam and Muslims (GSIM), a major terrorist organization operating in the Sahel region, the French Armed Forces Ministry said.
"In the afternoon on February 21, the French Armed Forces, engaged in Operation Barkhane, carried out an operation in the area to the north of Timbuktu in Mali ... As a result of this operation, eleven terrorists were neutralized ... Among the killed terrorists is Yahia Abou el Hamman, who is responsible for the terrorist organization known as the Emirate of Timbuktu, and is considered the number two figure at the GSIM. His two key associates were also killed during the operation," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Florence Parly, the Armed Forces minister, in a separate statement, praised the French military for its successful operation in the Sahel, saying that the killing of such a major figure at GSIM would undermine the dynamics of terrorism in the region.
GSIM, also known as Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin' (JNIM) is a jihadist organization responsible for numerous attacks in the Maghreb and West Africa.
The French military's Operation Barkhane has been ongoing since 2014. Apart from Mail, the mission entails Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger.
